Maj. Gen. Stephen G. Fogarty, the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon commanding general, presents Debbie Rhyne of the National Security Agency of Georgia with the 2014 Outstanding Unit Coordinator award at the Kendrick Memorial Blood Center annual Blood Donor Awards Ceremony held Jan. 29 at the Gordon Conference and Catering Center. Photo by Bonnie Heater/Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office Several service members and Fort Gordon civilians received recognition at the annual Kendrick Memorial Blood Donor Awards Ceremony held Jan. 29 at the Gordon Conference and Catering Center for giving the gift of life – blood.

Staff Sgt. Davette Campbell, the assistant noncommissioned officer in charge of the center, shared information about the history of the military blood program.

“ Maj. Gen. Douglas B. Kendrick, an Army surgeon, realized there was a need not only for a military blood program to be in place during wartime, as well as peace time following World War 1 and 2,” explained Campbell. “With his assistance, the Armed Services Blood Program was established in 1952 by Presidential Order as a joint operation, comprised of the Army, Navy and Air Force. General Kendrick is considered the ‘Father of the Armed Services Blood Program.’”

“Today, the Kendrick Memorial Blood Donor Center provides 19 percent of the Army’s quota on a weekly basis to the Central Command Area of Responsibility,” Campbell said. “We are the number one collection site for the Army.”

Erin Longacre, the blood donor recruiter from the Kendrick Memorial Blood Center at Fort Gordon, and Maj. Gen. Stephen G. Fogarty, U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon commanding general, presented unit awards during the award ceremony.

“First we would like to present the outstanding unit coordinator awards for 2014,” Longacre said. “The unit coordinator not only schedules the blood donations, but they work tirelessly to promote it and encourage people to donate blood. They send out emails, make phone calls, and sent our flyers advertising the blood donations. We had several unit coordinators who went above and beyond and helped push the blood donor program.”

Attending unit coordinators were:

• Staff Sgt. Shauna Cordial from Company A, 369th Signal Battalion;

• Debbie Rhyne from National Security Agency of Georgia.

Outstanding Blood Drive Coordinator was NSA Georgia. “NSA Georgia has contributed an average of over 100 units of blood per blood drive that they hosted this year, which is an amazing show of support and we appreciate them,” Longacre said.

Company B, Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, received recognition for being the Top Donating Medical Unit.

Company A, 63rd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, received an award for the Top Donating Company in the 35th Signal Brigade.

Company B, 442nd Signal Battalion, was presented an award for being the Top Supporter of the United States Special Operations Command, SOCOM, Plasma Project. According to Longacre, the SOCOM plasma project is an initiative that Fort Gordon and four other Army donor centers are working on to develop a combat-ready freeze dried plasma.

Top Platelet Donor Company Award went to Company D, 369th Signal Battalion.

“Platelet donations take a lot longer to donate and it’s a much larger commitment,” said Longacre. “We have a lot of Soldiers who donate (Apheresis) platelets.”

Other unit awards went to:

• Company C, 551st Signal Battalion, Top Donating Company Runner-up award;

• Company E, 551st Signal Battalion, Top Donating Company award.

Fogarty thanked the units for their great work. “Most importantly, I want to thank the individual donors, who had some pretty impressive stats. A seven gallon pin is going to be awarded today, as well as several one gallon pins. I will tell you that this is really making a difference in someone else’s life. I encourage everyone who can donate to get out and do so.”

Col. John P. Lamoureux, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center commander, joined Longacre in presenting individual blood donating awards:

• Carol Cox, donated an accumulative seven gallons of blood;

• Joseph Matosian donated four gallons;

• Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Grorich donated three gallons;

• John J. Curry, Bernadette Hudson and Jody Stafford donated two gallons of blood each.

“ Blood, plasma, and platelets are all needed to help care for our troops overseas, as well as patients at military medical facilities stateside,” Longacre explained. “To donate an individual must be at least 17 years old, weight at least 110 pounds, and be free from cold or flu for at least three days prior to donating blood. There are some restrictions placed on recent tattoos and body piercings, and certain travel restrictions also apply for those who travel outside the country.”

Blood donation can be made every 57 days. Other types of donations, like platelets or plasma, can be done more frequently. Platelets can be donated every week, and plasma every four weeks.

The Kendrick Memorial Blood Center accepts walk-in donations Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Fridays by appointment. Visit www.militaryblood.dod.mil for more information about eligibility to donate blood or call (706) 787-1014 or 1012.